Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The number of personal and professional trips in the European Union reached 1.19 billion during the past year, 2024, an increase of 4.4% compared to the 1.14 billion trips recorded in 2023. Of the total trips, 850 million were domestic trips (71% of the total) and 250 million were external trips within the European Union (21%), meaning that 92% of trips made by EU residents were within the EU. According to figures published by Eurostat, the European Statistical Office in Brussels, the highest proportions of domestic trips were recorded in Romania (90%), Spain (88%), and France, Portugal, and Greece (85% each). The lowest proportion was in Luxembourg, with only 5%, followed by Belgium (23%) and Malta (35%). In contrast, these three EU countries recorded the highest proportion of outbound trips within the EU—Luxembourg (78%), Belgium (62%), and Malta (48%)—while Romania (9%), France (9%), and Spain (8%) recorded the lowest figures.
Despite the increase in the number of domestic trips, total spending on outbound trips was higher. In 2024, EU residents spent €257.2 billion on domestic trips and €360.7 billion on outbound trips.
For domestic trips, accommodation and transport accounted for more than half of spending, at 33.9% (€87.2 billion) and 21.3% (€54.8 billion), respectively. For outbound trips, EU residents spent relatively more on accommodation (35.4%; €127.7 billion) and transport (31.9%; €115.1 billion).